Echoes of Mamre
by Prince-in-Disguise
Summary: A mysterious organization starts targeting Athrun when he accidentally gets tangled in one of their top secret projects. Can he escape their clutches and manage to stay out of danger long enough to unravel their deadly secret? Chapter three is up!
1. Chapter 1: The Binding

**Author's Note:** The story is set after the events of Gundam SEED. I'm proud to report that I've had a serious idea for once, so let's see how this one turns out! A lot of it is still hatching, so please review and let me know what you think... Most importantly, though, please ENJOY!

**Disclaimer: Gundam Seed and all its characters belong to their respective owners.**

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**Echoes of Mamre**

**Chapter 01: The Binding**

Athrun bundled the last of the boxes onto the backseat, strained to push the door closed and took a step back to admire his work. His car was crammed to bursting with micro unit supplies he had special-ordered over the past month. Had he known everything would be shipped together, he would have held back on some of those orders, or he would have hired a truck.

_To be honest, I guess I did get a little carried away…_ he thought, staring at the mountain of goods stuffed into his car. He so often did when it came to building cute little robotic critters. To be realistic, he did not need all of it right away, but whenever the micro unit fever took him, his usual practical manner took a snooze.

Since the end of the war, everyone seemed to be pulling their lives back together. Lacus had taken charge of the orphanage with Kira, Cagalli was starting her career in politics… So Athrun had decided that he needed something to occupy his mind too.

Maybe it would only be a small business at first. Selling Hallo's to complete strangers seemed a bit immoral to him, somehow… But, he assured himself, it was a bit like breeding with animals – you had to love them in order to produce the best results. After all, he did not have to sell them right away. He could start out playing around with different designs first, and then, when he was ready, he could advertise them online.

With his head full of colourful ideas for future micro unit designs, Athrun hopped into the car and sped homewards. At the moment, what he called home was a lonely little apartment on the quiet side of town. It was only a temporary arrangement until Cagalli could find a way for him to stay close to her without revealing his true identity. Kira and Lacus had offered that he could stay on at the orphanage with them until that happened, but he did not want to intrude on them like that. He appreciated how his friends always supported him, but he could not depend on others for the rest of his life.

As he took the next turn, a small silhouette on the side of the road caught his eye. He slowed the car to get a closer look, and was shocked to realize that the bedraggled figure was that of a child. Stopping, he scanned the roadside for anyone who looked like they might be the parents, but the sidewalk was empty except for her. She stood with her tiny arms wrapped tightly around her shivering body as her eyes darted this way and that. She was scared. All alone. Abandoned.

_Discarded…_

Athrun felt a painful sensation surface from a certain locked compartment in his heart as the image of the child with no parents echoed with the orphaned boy that was imprisoned within his soul.

Before he knew what he was doing, he was out of the car and walking up to her. She reminded him of a frightened rabbit, ready to dart at the slightest movement. But as he came closer, she only turned her round eyes up at him and watched silently, acceptingly. For a moment, he just stood there. He was clueless around children, but he could not just leave the poor girl here by herself – she had to be no more than six years old! He wished for Cagalli or Lacus, or even Kira to pop up out of the blue and take over.

"Erm… hi there," he managed lamely. The little girl blinked up at him, almost expectantly. _What to say…_

"Are you a Coordinator?" she asked.

"What? I mean, um… sort of," he replied without thinking._What kind of an answer is that?_ he berated himself. But he had been taken aback by hearing a question like that come from an infant's mouth so casually. "I mean… yes, I am."

A slight change came over the child's features. Athrun was not sure exactly what had changed, but it was a loosening of sorts. A giggle fluttered from her baby pink lips. When Athrun regarded her with an indignant frown, she clarified simply: "You're silly!"

"What about you?" he asked, hoping to steer the subject away from how silly she apparently thought he was. Since his childhood days, Athrun had always been a solemn person who liked to be taken seriously. He could handle a joke, certainly, but getting laughed at by a kid sort of irked him just a little bit. "What are you doing all by yourself? Won't your parents get worried?"

"No…" she replied, the twinkle suddenly gone from her eyes again. "I don't have any parents."

Athrun felt a twinge of regret at the cruel reality of the situation before him. A great tragedy had befallen this little girl. Most likely she had been orphaned during the war, and whoever had been taking care of her could or would no longer do so, and left her here. To Athrun, there was only one logical solution to a sensitive case like this, and her name was Lacus Clyne.

"I know!" he said. "Come on, I'll take you to a place where there are lots of kids like you."

"Lots… like me…?" she repeated incredulously, but, thankfully, she followed him to his car and got in without argument. "You sure have a lot of stuff, mister."

"Ahah… I guess I do," he muttered, clasping the steering wheel firmly in both hands. '_Mister'…?_

The short drive to the orphanage was only a few minutes, but it seemed to take hours instead. The fresh, salty air against his cheeks and the wind in his hair failed to give him the usual pleasant thrill of driving along Orb's coastline. Athrun had more important matters to think about than enjoying the breeze. Every now and then, he thought of something useful to say, but eventually discarded it as 'potentially silly' before he got around to saying it. The sooner he got this kid to Lacus, the better. Finally, he thought of something he should have said a long time ago, and mentally kicked himself for forgetting.

"So, what's your name?" he asked.

She eyed him sideways, her large, blue pupils moving up and down his face fitfully. Was she afraid that she could not trust him. A little late for that, what with having clambered into his car without a second glance and all. Just when he thought that she was probably not going to answer him, she drew her legs up and wrapped her arms around them with not a care for the dark smears her dirty little feet were leaving on the car seats.

"Promise you won't laugh?" she said into her knees.

"I won't," Athrun replied.

"It's Zehina," she mumbled in a rush.

Athrun felt his eyebrows climb. It was indeed a strange name, but he did not want to upset the child, especially not when they were still so far away from Lacus's orphanage. In an effort to hide his surprise, he diverted his eyes to the rear-view mirror. The traffic in the slow lane was lumbering along without much haste. There were few vehicles on the road – a red sports car that was almost matching Athrun's speed, a white van with tinted windows, and a brown little bug that reminded him a bit of a taxi for all the passengers it was carrying. Catching his own reflection in the mirror, he quickly smoothed his features into what he hoped was a neutral expression.

"Well, that definitely is an interesting name…" he managed.

"You can say it," she muttered, still not looking up, "It's definitely a _weird_ name."

An awkward silence floated up between them like an impenetrable bubble.

"We're almost there," he offered at last, hoping the change of subject would lighten the mood, but she just glared at him and he found himself wishing that what he had said was closer to the truth than it actually was. _What did I do wrong now?_ He really had no talent when it came to children.

"So what's _your_ name?" she demanded crossly. Ah, so_that_ was it.

"I'm Athrun," he said.

And she burst out laughing! Now it was his turn to frown. Just what was wrong with his name, anyway? It was startlingly difficult to keep his expression from growing sullen. After all, he was not a sulky brat, he thought heatedly. The indignity of it all! Abruptly, the girl went quiet. His sudden scowl had probably scared her, for fat tears were collecting in the corners of her eyes. Suppressing a sigh, he sped the car up another notch. He had to get to that orphanage, and fast. Lacus knew everything about children. She would know what to do.

He raised his emerald green eyes to check the rear-view mirror again, and noticed that the white van was approaching him at an alarming speed. _You'll get a speeding ticket…_ Athrun thought, shaking his head as he prepared to let the fool pass. But instead, the van closed the gap between their two vehicles and rode almost bumper to bumper with Athrun's car. _Is this guy out of his mind!?_ Athrun stole a glance at Zehina. Good, she was wearing her seatbelt. He switched gears and rose to the challenge. If it was a race the van wanted…

Just then, the window on the passenger's side of the van rolled down and the barrel of a gun poked out! They were going to shoot at him!? His mind raced as his eyes roved the area for possible escape routes. His handgun was always in its holster inside his jacket, but at the speed he was driving, there was no way to keep the car on the road and shoot at the same time. _Damn! I can't do anything like this!_ he thought, desperately speeding up once more.

The first shot rang, and missed. The second and third ricocheted off the car's heavy, external plating. Athrun swerved the vehicle left and right trying to dodge bullets, but the mirror was a poor source to judge their angle by. A loud bang, followed by an ominous hiss, sent the car spinning out of control as the next shot hit the hind wheel, busting the tyre. Athrun grit his teeth as the edge of the road approached at high speed.

In slow-motion, it seemed, the car smashed through the railing on the side of the road, before the ground came rushing up to meet him. The only sound he could hear was his own scream…

---

Cagalli found herself staring at her new surroundings in awe once again. Though it was probably supposed to be obvious that she would one day succeed her father in his leadership over Orb, she never in her wildest dreams imagined that she would have to go through grooming hell just to get up in the morning! Things had been bad enough while she was just 'the wayward princess'. Now that she was Orb's respectable matriarch, she was constantly attacked by servants who wanted to comb, brush and polish everything until she thought she thought she would scream. They seemed to think she was an entirely different person now that she had assumed leadership. Well, at least the bowing and scraping had stopped after her declaration the day before. She refused to call it an outburst. She was a grownup now, and grownups did not have outbursts.

The morning's drama aside, she was in a great mood today and she would let no amount of fussing spoil it. She had finally found a way for Athrun to be close to her. The problem had been that, as a Coordinator, he would stick out like a sore thumb wherever he went, especially a famous one like Athrun Zala. The people of the new council seemed to still have some reservations about Coordinators. Eventually, she would fix that too. But until then, she had the perfect place for Athrun.

Her personal bodyguard… What a dreamy thought.

She was rudely jostled out of her sweet reverie when the phone rang. Grumbling, she reached for the receiver and pressed it to her ear. The moment Lacus's soft voice started talking on the other end, her legs turned to water. She could not remember falling to her knees. She pushed herself up and replaced the receiver numbly.

"Oh, Athrun…" she breathed.

---

The monitor showed the impossible image of a young man climbing from the wreckage of a badly ruined car. The figure's eyes were a sort of ice blue as he looked up, straight in the trembling cameraman's direction. The figure fought like a berserker, not letting anyone near the small bundle sitting calmly at his feet. The figure leaped at the screen, the camera angle swung askew and the recording ended in static.

The man who called himself Stark stared at the replaying video in front of him. He sat his revolving chair like a throne as he eyed his subordinates with a laziness he did not feel. The dull light from the monitors lit up their fearful faces as they glanced at one another, wondering what their fate would be. They had a right to be afraid. They had disappointed him. And he did not like being disappointed.

"W-We almost had her, sir," the boldest fool managed to speak up. "But then she—"

"I am well aware of what has happened, Borace," the man who called himself Stark replied slowly, savouring the look of cold dread that took hold of his useless subordinate. He turned his attention back to the monitors to study the recording of their failure once more. "At least you've done _something_ right…"

"S-Sir?"

The man who called himself Stark paused to rethink his statement. He did not need to console them in any way. They had failed. Utterly. Rubbing his chin, he replayed the video once more. The girl should not even have been allowed to make it as far as the city, much less get the chance to find a Source. But to think that she would Bind with a human… A Coordinator, at that. If the situation had not been so dire, the results might have been intriguing. But as long as he called himself Stark, he could not think like that. So he suppressed his inner curiosity and, instead, zoomed in on a freeze-frame of the blue-haired youth's face. A steady stream of blood was trickling down the side of his head. That had not seemed to stop him from fighting off several armed men effortlessly.

"I want all the information you can find on this boy," he said finally, tapping the image on the screen with his index finger. "Then find out if he's still alive."

Those haunting blue eyes looked teasingly familiar, yet infinitely strange in this young man's face. They were not his.

---

Athrun woke in a pool of his own blood. Gingerly, he touched the source of his pounding headache, a rough gash down the side of his head. For a moment, his mind was blank. Until he saw the flaming wreckage of his car lying upside down and crumpled up against the trunk of a tree. He frowned. _How did I get so far from the wreck?_ And if the car was in such bad shape, how in the world could he have survived? His breath caught in his throat as memories of the moments before the crash returned.

The girl!

Was she still in there? He had to save her, even if it meant going back into that inferno and digging her out!

"You'll die if you go back in there," a little voice said beside him.

That voice! He gasped and spun in the direction of the child's voice. She was standing over him, unscathed, and her blue eyes had a strange glow to them. It reminded him of the way a cat's eyes glinted in the dark. His frown deepened.

"How did you…?" he began, but the rest of his sentence fell apart.

He was so tired. He had trouble focusing on her face. Those eyes, like blue fireflies, drew blurry lines across his vision as he tried to keep her face in view. The last of his strength left him, and he dropped face down onto the ground.

"I'm sorry… I've used up a lot," he heard the small voice tell him from somewhere in the darkness. "Rest now, get your strength back…"

**To be continued...**


	2. Chapter 2: Mirage

**Author's Note:** I'm starting to scare myself... That said, please read the second chapter of my very serious Gundam SEED story.

**Disclaimer: Gundam Seed and all its characters belong to their respective owners.  
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**Echoes of Mamre**

**Chapter 02: Mirage**

_ Trapped…_

His body could not move. He was not sure he even had a body.

_I'm trapped!_

He wanted to howl, but no sound came.

_Get me out of here!_

So many eyes were watching. The eyes penetrated his mind. His entire soul was naked before them. It was so cold…

_Let me out!_

As if his silent pleas were somehow enough, great cracks streaked across his vision. Cold light enveloped him. It was freezing, but he did not care. He was free…! For some reason, the concept seemed alien to him, like the logical half of his brain was asleep. Floating there in white nothingness, he could not imagine what being free was like.

_It's like a dream…_

—_this is a dream!_

The two very different thoughts followed right on top of one another, confusing Athrun even more. _Ath…run…?_ His sense of self revived, along with the horrible realization that he was in a dream and could not wake up.

He was no longer alone. He was not sure how he knew, but he felt another presence withdrawing, pulling itself out of him. She was still connected to him somehow, but their thoughts no longer seemed as one.

_Aha! There you are!_ The thought came as a playful giggle. Not his own. _We almost got lost, didn't we, 'Athrun'?_ He had no idea what she meant by 'lost', but it no longer mattered. There was physical warmth to his left cheek. A hand was touching him, somewhere in the waking world. He could feel the other presence distance itself almost regretfully from him as he slid into wakefulness. His eyes drifted open of their own accord. He let out a great sigh of relief at seeing the familiar pair of affectionate, brown eyes trained on him.

_Cagalli…_

Though she had pulled it away, Athrun knew that she was the owner of the kind hand that had gently caressed his cheek. She sat at the edge of the bed, her eyes searching his questioningly. Slowly turning his head, wary of a dull ache that pulsated in and out of existence from the side of his head, Athrun swept his eyes around the room. Kira was there, and Lacus. They were all looking at him with worried frowns. He felt a little self-conscious with them looking upon him with such pity in their eyes. _Don't look at me like that… I'm not dead…_ he wanted to say to them. But there was a more pressing matter, something he had to ask them about. He thought it had something to do with Lacus. If only he could remember what it was.

Just then, his eyes fell on a timid shape that stood between Kira and Lacus with hunched shoulders. Her bright blue eyes were brimming with an emotion Athrun would place somewhere between guilt and horror. But she was still alive. That was good. He sent her a reassuring smile. Her eyes widened in surprise before she managed to return the smile.

---

Athrun looked so fragile, lying there in the hospital bed. His cheeks were aglow and his brow was soaked with sweat. Every now and then, his lips moved as if he was trying to speak, but hardly any sound came out. Fever dreams. That was how the doctor clarified it. Cagalli's heart ached at the agonized expression on the blue-haired boy's face.

"What's wrong with him?" she demanded for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

Kira and Lacus exchanged troubled looks, but remained silent. They could not answer her.

No one could.

It made no sense. Athrun had been admitted for injuries received in a car accident – after seeing the condition of the car, Cagalli had wanted to cry all over again – but those injuries seemed to have been minor. Even his head wound was confirmed by the doctor to be "just a scratch". By Coordinator standards, Athrun should be up and about by now. But his temperature kept rising and his heart rate increased in leaps and bounds. He was deathly ill. She bit her lip to keep the tears from leaking out.

Her mind started to worry about the silliest things. She could not remember if she had ever told him how she felt about him. Did he know? She could not even remember what the last thing was they had been talking about. Had they argued? Why did that seem so important? Athrun was not going to die… right?

Shutting that thought firmly out of her mind, she placed her hand to his cheek – and had to gasp at the fierce heat radiating from his flesh! Gently smoothing a couple of damp strands of blue hair from his forehead, she willed him to somehow draw strength from her presence. She did not care if it was a little superstitious. She was not so vain as to believe that she could miraculously cure an illness doctors could not even identify, she just needed to let him know that she was there for him. Her heart _did_ skip a beat when his eyelids fluttered at her touch. Holding her breath, she gently stroked his smouldering skin with the back of her hand. Her heartbeat sped up as his eyes opened in slow motion.

They were only halfway open when she drew back her hand in shock. The gentle green eyes that were meant to be staring up at her with their usual, loving glow – they were ice blue!

He blinked. The sparkle of recognition ignited in his meadow green eyes and he smiled gratefully at her. Cagalli drew breath for what felt like the first time in ages. Athrun recognized her. His eyes were green. But they _had_ been blue. It had been for no longer than a second, but Cagalli could not have imagined that pair of startlingly bright blue irises shining like twin frozen suns, looking at her as if she were a complete stranger.

Athrun looked around the room, his face displaying a mixture of despondence and confusion. His eyes lingered on Lacus for a moment before leaping to a spot somewhere between the pink-haired songstress and his best friend, Kira. He smiled fondly into empty space. Was he even fully awake? Athrun had a habit of staring into space, but Cagalli did not like this one bit. The memory of those glacial eyes still haunted her. Getting angry was probably not the best course of action, but she felt her temper snapping anyway. Before she knew it, she had Athrun by the shoulders and was shaking him meaningfully.

"What's the matter with you, wrecking that fancy car of yours just for the sake of speeding!?" she shouted. She had been so worried about him! She was always worried about him! He was _so_ precious to her, but he would throw his life away in a heartbeat! She was surprised to find tears spilling from her eyes. "Damn it, Athrun, do you always have to drive like a maniac!? What have you got to say for yourself!?"

He kept staring at her with a blank expression, his lips slightly parted in an unvoiced question, until she stopped rattling him left and right. Again, he glanced at the spot between Kira and Lacus.

"You scared her away…" he murmured sleepily.

"Athrun?" she said, waving a hand before his eyes. Maybe he was not fully conscious yet. Then, as if snapping awake suddenly, he turned one of his trademark indignant frowns on her.

"I wasn't speeding," he declared simply, "I was dodging bullets."

"You mean somebody attacked you!?" she cried. He just nodded in reply. How could he be so calm about it? She resisted the urge to start shaking him again.

"Blue Cosmos?" Kira asked quietly.

Cagalli's throat tightened at the mention of that name. The Blue Cosmos was an organization of fanatics harbouring an irrational hatred for Coordinators. Some of them were… pretty extreme. To put it mildly. But Athrun shook his head.

"Not this time…" he replied.

Despite herself, Cagalli heaved a sigh of relief. This did not change the fact that somebody had tried to kill Athrun, but just thinking about last time made her shiver. If she never met up with another Blue Cosmos assassin in her entire life, it would be too soon.

"Any idea who they were?" she pressed.

"They were driving a van with darkened windows, so I couldn't see their faces," Athrun said slowly. "One of the tyres got busted. The car went off the road…" He frowned and bit his lip. "What happened after that?" He clutched at his head with both hands and his shoulders began trembling slightly. "Did I…? No, but I don't remember—" He clamped his jaw shut and shook his head as if trying to rid himself of a bad memory. "I can't remember anything…!"

"Don't force it, Athrun." Her twin's voice was soft, yet strong, as he placed a reassuring hand on his best friend's shoulder. Athrun looked up. His eyes were distant and his features had a slightly haunted look to them. "The memories will come back on their own."

Athrun swallowed and looked like he would rather not have them come back.

"Well, whoever they were, our next course of action is pretty clear to me," Cagalli announced, punctuating her statement by rising from the bed and planting her fists in her hips. Athrun eyed her suspiciously. He knew her too well. Too bad for him, but he had no choice. "We have much tighter security at the manor. I'll—"

"Forget it," Athrun interrupted, crossing his arms over his chest stubbornly. "You'll just put yourself in unnecessary danger. It's better if I go back to my apartment. I'll be ready for them this time—"

"Unnecessary danger!?" Cagalli parroted. "Athrun this is your _life_ we're talking about! I would hardly call that 'unnecessary'! And you need to _rest_! You're in no condition to go running around fighting assassins!"

"I'm fine," he muttered, promptly getting out of the hospital bed to prove his point.

That he was able to stand unsupported was of little consolation to Cagalli. No matter how much pain he was in, Athrun would force his body to do his mind's bidding, just to show that he no longer needed to remain in hospital. And she knew all too well how much Athrun hated hospitals. If he ever had to go for a heart operation, she thought he would probably get up out of surgery with his heart in his hand if they did not give him a strong enough sedative! Such was the extent of Athrun Zala's stubbornness. Worrying about him was a full-time job.

"Athrun, be reasonable!" she shouted. "Don't think we're gonna let you go face them by yourself! You're only gonna get yourself killed, damn it!"

"I don't think it's _me_ they're after…" he muttered half to himself as he started to turn away.

Cagalli shared a concerned look with Lacus. He was talking nonsense again. The one minute he was telling them how he had been dodging bullets, the next he announced that the attack had not been aimed at him. Though she could have predicted what would happen next, Cagalli's heart still jerked as the blue-haired boy's legs gave way under him. He slumped. Kira was there to catch him just in time.

"Take it easy," her twin warned, trying to steady the swaying Athrun. "You really need to stay in bed."

Athrun protested feebly as Kira guided him back to the bed. That Kira was able to force him back down so effortlessly was a measure of how much of Athrun's strength had been drained away by that fever attack. There was just no way he would be able to defend himself against an assassin right now. He had to see the sense in that. Still, he glowered at them resentfully until his eyelids drooped shut again. Despite her worries, she allowed herself a tiny smile. Athrun certainly was cute when he got all sulky.

---

Opening his eyes, Athrun found himself lying on a dull, white couch in the corner of a picture perfect living room. At least, it would have been picture perfect if it had been cut out of a black and white magazine. The walls, the wooden floor, even the flowers that stood in a vase upon a delicately carved table, were colourless. Another thing that was strange about the room was that it did not have a door. Tall, impending windows leered from the walls behind and opposite of the couch, bathing everything in harsh, white light, but there was no door.

He sat up and was surprised to feel no pain at all, despite the distant memories of a car crash and a hospital bed. Numbly, he wondered where he was. The thought immediately fled his mind when his ears picked up the sound of someone crying.

Rising from the couch, he noticed a hallway that had definitely not been there before. Getting a chill, he forced himself to cross the room to the new opening. Inside the hall, everything was a mild shade of bluish white. Even the sky, he noted as he glanced through the icy window frame situated in the wall, was a glowing, soapy kind of blue here. Trying not to wonder too much about how the sky in the living room could seem so different from the sky in this window, Athrun followed the spooky hallway to a door.

The door was smaller than a normally sized door. A message was tacked carelessly against the pale blue wood. The piece of paper dangled crookedly from the protruding nail, as if the job had been done in great haste. He could almost make out the letters scrawled in dark blue ink, but as soon as he tried to concentrate on one letter in particular, it seemed to skitter out of focus. It was almost as if the letters themselves resisted being read. The sounds of soft sniffling came from behind this door. He reached for the washed out blue doorknob when a shrill scream struck his senses, not just his ears, but his entire being.

"YOU CAN'T GO IN THERE!!!"

The piercing cry resounded all around him, echoing endlessly, until he could no longer sense the door, the walls, or even the floorboards beneath his feet. Covering his ears, he tried to block out the sound, but it was useless. The sound was already inside him, resonating. Everything went white.

---

Athrun started awake, tangled in the bedding that had twisted around him in his fitful sleep. For a long moment he just lay there, gulping in as much cool night air as he could between shuddering breaths. His back, his palms, his hair, his whole body was slicked with sweat. The sheets felt clammy under his damp skin.

_Where am I?_

Slowly, as he allowed his eyes to roam the dark panels in the ceiling, familiarity sank in. This was one of the guest rooms in Cagalli's mansion. He was too tired to be annoyed with his friends for making decisions on his behalf. He must have slept for hours, but he felt like he had run a marathon instead. At least his headache was gone. But he remembered things… Flashes of surging adrenaline in his veins, flashes of rending flesh with his fingernails, the memory of snapping spines with a single kick, the smell of blood… _Did I…? No! They're not my memories!_ He pressed his hands to his temples and shook his head as hard as he could, willing the horrifying images to go away. _I don't remember!_

It had all been one long dream. The crash had not been real. The attack had not been real. But he could still hear the tyres screeching. And the sound of those gunshots were still too vivid in his mind. The girl?

"I'm still here."

Athrun's heart nearly popped out of his throat. She had spoken quietly, her voice no more than a whisper of a whisper, but she had startled him. She had not been sitting there at the edge of the bed when he first opened his eyes. He was sure of it.

"Zehina! Where have you been?" he demanded.

"All over the place," she said casually, then wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Frankly, I think you're incredibly complicated."

Somehow, she seemed a little more mature than the grubby little kid he had picked up off the side of the road. Her appearance was still that of a petite six year old, but her vocabulary had increased tremendously. And her eyes were… _knowing_.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

Suddenly, her bright blue eyes went wide and round and scared. Fat tears began to well up in them. Athrun reached a hand out to touch her shoulder, hoping to possibly to comfort her. And he was thrown back onto the bed by an incredibly strong, invisible force. Gasping for breath, he tried to resist the pressure that was holding him down and preventing his body from moving. He struggled for breath. He was going to be crushed!

In an instant, the pressure lifted.

His body felt heavy, but he could move again. He drew a long, shuddering breath, then sat up gingerly. Zehina was nowhere to be seen, but somehow, he knew she was there.

The door burst open. Somehow he had known that would happen.

_They're here…_ It was not his own thought.

---

Borace was not a very smart man, but he was well built and very strong. He had a nasty weapon in his hand. He was not too skilled at killing with firearms, but he knew a thing or two about knives. This particular knife, one of his personal favourites, had vicious little barbs all over the blade, meant to hook and tear flesh. He smiled a ghoulish smile as he thought about how he would avenge his men. The boy had caused a lot of damage, not to mention the huge blow Borace's reputation had suffered. He licked his lips. Yes, revenge would be sweet…

Quivering with anticipation, he kicked the door down. He drew in a sharp breath at seeing a flash of blindingly blue eyes. It was his last.

**To be continued...**


	3. Chapter 3: Cascade

**Author's Note: **Just so I can say that I warned you: it's supposed to be creepy.

**Disclaimer: Gundam Seed and all its characters belong to their respective owners.**

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**Echoes of Mamre**

**Chapter 03: Cascade**

_Blood…_ Athrun's hands trembled as he brought them up to his face to stare at them. _So much blood…_ His vision blurred with the combination of horror and exhaustion. _All this blood…_ His heart was battering against his ribcage like a frenzied animal trying to break out. _Where did it come from?_ He tried to stand, but his quaking legs sagged of their own accord as his bare feet slipped in something warm._ This is _my_ blood, right…? It _has_ to be! _he cried silently, hugging his knees. He squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip fervently._ Please let this be my blood!_

--

Cagalli was not sleeping well. She kept tossing left and right, her thoughts hammering on about those cold, cold blue eyes. Had she really seen them, or had she imagined them after all? What had made Athrun so sick? After three hours, the doctors had declared that there really wasn't anything wrong with him, and sent him home with nothing but a sharp admonition for them to watch for any signs of his condition deteriorating. But what had cured him?

She snapped wide awake at the sound of a spine-chilling scream. It came from Athrun's room. Her restless musings forgotten, she threw off her blankets and clambered out of bed. In her haste, she did not even think to throw a robe over her green satin nightgown. She bounded down the hallway and flung herself into Athrun's room.

And her knees buckled at the horrendous sight before her.

_What… happened here?_

The floorboards were slick with fresh blood. Little red spatters clung to the walls and ceiling. At the far end of the room, the badly mangled body of a big man lay in a crumpled heap on the floor. It looked like the handiwork of some rabid animal. She wanted to sick up. She could feel a wave of dizziness overwhelm her as her stomach started to heave.

_Athrun… Where's Athrun?_

When she could finally stand again, she gingerly picked her way across the room in search of Athrun. She tried not to think about the wet stickiness under her bare feet. Was it her imagination, or was it still warm…? She thrust the thought away viciously – no time for that! She had to find Athrun! Her heart thundered in her chest as her eyes probed the darkness for any signs of the dark-haired Coordinator. Her gaze swept past a blood-covered shape huddling in the corner of the room, then flicked back to it immediately.

Her heart stopped. It was Athrun.

_Did that thing get him too!?_

His clothes were drenched in blood, but he was shivering. _Still alive…_ she thought as she allowed herself small a sigh of relief. She hurried to his side and wrapped her arms around him, trying to still his trembling with the force of her hug. She did not know why she was crying. He was fine. He was alive. But, even though his body was whole, he seemed so broken.

For what seemed like hours, they sobbed together quietly.

--

Athrun was sitting on the edge of the bath, stripped to the waist and staring at the drain. After calling Kira and then the security – Cagalli admitted, she probably should have called the latter first, but she just had not been thinking straight – she had hauled the dazed Athrun to his feet and dragged him to the bathroom to get him cleaned up. She still had no idea what had happened, but she was sure Athrun did not want anyone else to see him like this. The pain and humiliation had been clear in his vividly green eyes when he saw her staring at him in shock.

Cagalli held the showerhead close to his hair and turned on the tap. The sudden blast of cold water made him shiver a little, but he did not complain. Partly, she had hoped that he would be indignant at her for not turning on the warm water, but he remained unresponsive. They both watched the water draining away as she rinsed his silky, midnight locks. The water took on a pinkish hue as it gradually diluted and loosened the blood tangling the long strands together.

--

Today had been a disaster, Kira thought as he mentally ticked off the horrible events of the day. First, Athrun was in a car crash, then he was hospitalized for a strange, unknown illness, then someone broke into Cagalli's house! To top it all off, there was the mysterious murder that Cagalli claimed must have happened right in front of Athrun's eyes.

It was a weird, seeing his childhood friend so traumatized that he could not even speak. In fact, it was so unlike Athrun that Kira almost wanted to consider the possibility that someone could have taken the real Athrun and swapped him with an imposter.

Instead of voicing his insecurities, though, Kira had played the role of the strong, supportive elder brother for both Athrun and Cagalli. And he had called the hospital too, just in case Athrun's silence was a relapse of his strange illness. Dr Blaauw arrived at Athha Manor even before the police did.

--

Cagalli was not scared. Nothing ever scared her. She was convinced of that. Kira, however, seemed to believe that she had been scared out of her wits. He had his arm tucked around her shoulders securely. True, it did provide a certain sense of comfort to have her twin's arm around her… But the one who truly needed support, was the pale figure slouched in one of the ladder-back chairs arranged around the kitchen table. If not for the chair's support, Cagalli did not think that the poor boy would have been able to maintain his balance.

It was a sight that wrenched her heart. She had never seen the proud, confident Athrun Zala like this before. His haggard state was not entirely due to shock, though. Dr Blaauw, the person who had been sent by the hospital to monitor Athrun's "unstable condition", had given him a sedative to help him calm down. Not that he had needed any calming. He had looked like he was half asleep as it was, not even noticing as the doctor's needle pricked his skin.

"There is no sign of the alleged intruder on the grounds," the police inspector was saying. "Upon arrival, my men had done a thorough sweep of the area." His mouth twisted sourly. "It would have helped if you could have contacted us a bit faster, Miss Athha."

Kira's hand tightened on her shoulder.

"Just what are you implying?" her twin ground at the officer through his teeth. "She was in shock. That's why she called me first."

"That's all very well, Mr Yamato," the inspector told the air. "But that leaves me wondering whether this has really been a case of breaking-and-entering… There are no signs of forced entry. And then there's the unidentified body to consider…"

Just what was this jerk getting at? Cagalli felt her temper flaring. _How dare this creep insinuate that the _intruder_ had been the victim!?_ She was about to pummel the officer senseless. In fact, she had her arm half-raised and her one foot forward… when a small sob escaped Athrun's lips. Startled, she turned to the blue-haired boy. There were no tears, but his shoulders were quaking visibly, his mouth working silently. His expression was one of excruciating pain, as though he had just witnessed a vision of the end of the world.

Just what had happened in that room? What had they done to Athrun?

"I did it…" he murmured. His voice was quivering so badly that it took Cagalli three full seconds to reason out what he had said. "It was me, I killed him…"

The inspector's mouth was hanging open before Athrun finished speaking. He quickly regained himself, though, a slow smirk spreading over his features. Cagalli felt like spitting at him. No policeman worth his salt would find satisfaction in an incoherent confession like that!

What _was_ wrong with Athrun? She had never seen him like this.

"I'm afraid the boy is rambling, Inspector," Dr Blaauw interjected as he stepped between Athrun and the sad excuse for a policeman smoothly. "I gave him a very strong sedative. He probably doesn't even know what he's saying."

Cagalli felt the tension slide out of her shoulders, and Kira let go of her arm. When had her brother gripped her arm?

"Very well," the inspector sneered, the smug look still visible on his face, "we will continue this discussion tomorrow, when our boy is more alert."

With an acknowledging nod that was clearly sarcastic, the officer turned smartly and left. Cagalli glared daggers at the uniformed man's retreating back. _How dare he—_ Her thoughts were cut off by Athrun jumping up from the chair suddenly and stumbling towards her.

"You've got to believe me!" he cried out hopelessly, as if all the world depended on it. "I killed him with my bare hands! Those others too! I—"

Abruptly, Dr Blaauw was at his side with a syringe in his hand. Athrun's eyes widened at the sight of the needle and tried to back away, but his already drugged body would not obey him and he staggered into the kitchen table. With one hand, the broad-shouldered doctor pinned the feebly struggling Coordinator against the table. With the other, he deftly injected more sedative into Athrun's veins. His desperate, green eyes rolled up into his head and he slumped against the tabletop.

"Was that really necessary!?" Cagalli yelled.

She strained forward, only to realize that Kira was holding her back once more. You would think she was going to pulverize the doctor! All she wanted to do was reach Athrun.

It was infuriating.

She really needed to punch something!

"Lemme go, damn it!" she grunted, yanking her arm free and rushing to Athrun's side.

By now, Dr Blaauw had eased him to the floor and was about to gather the limp bundle in his arms. She elbowed the bulky man out of the way – with more force than was strictly necessary, granted, but she was in a foul mood – and lifted Athrun's head onto her lap. Tenderly, she stroked his cheek and pushed a few stray strands of midnight blue hair away from his eyes. He was unconscious, but his expression was far from peaceful.

"Let me," Kira offered gently.

All she gave him in reply was a shrug, but the bond they shared as siblings went beyond words. Carefully, Kira lifted his childhood friend from the cold, tile floor and carried him to another of the guest rooms.

"He's unstable," Dr Blaauw commented softly.

Cagalli rounded on the doctor. Let him see her tears! She did not care if anyone saw her crying now!

"I would be too, if you fed me that much sedative!" she exclaimed.

"Trust me," Dr Blaauw said quietly. "He does not need to relive _that_ right now."

Cagalli shivered involuntarily. Just thinking about what she had found in the blood-spattered room made her stomach perform a series of uncomfortable flip-flops. What had Athrun seen that could have rattled him so? Maybe the doctor was right. What Athrun needed was rest, not nightmares…

--

The man who called himself Stark smiled at the man shuffling his feet uneasily in front him. The cloudy night sky hid his features quite well, but then, the officer had no need of seeing his face.

"I trust that it will be payment enough?" he asked casually.

"It…" The policeman stopped to wet his lips nervously, a quick movement of his tongue. "It will be enough."

"Good," the man who called himself Stark replied pleasantly. "And remember, Inspector, neither you, nor your men saw any of this."

"Of course," the police inspector agreed fervently. "You have my word."

The man who called himself Stark let his smile grow. It would be so. _Otherwise, I would have your head._ His gaze had turned to the silhouette of Attha Manor before the police officer was properly out of sight. He did not even chuckle at his own joke.

--

Athrun struggled between sleeping and waking.

His mind was aware, but his body was nothing but dead weight. He could not even twitch his toes. He wanted to scream. He had to wake up. The police had to take him away. He was losing his mind. He saw little ghost children who did not exist and he killed people with his bare hands. Hands he had no control over. He was turning into a psychotic killer.

What if the next person he attacked was not a burglar, but someone he knew? What if the next person he killed was Kira… or Cagalli?

He could not say how long he lay there, fighting the drug, but as soon as he could raise his head, he knew there was hope. He tried tilting his body over so he could roll closer to the edge of the bed. He ran the risk of using too much force and throwing himself off the bed – his body was still numb – but there was no time to lose. There was a telephone resting on the bedside table. If he could only reach it, he could call the police and have them lock him up.

Cagalli would probably be mad at him if he did that. But her anger was a small price to pay for keeping her safe from himself. He groaned involuntarily from the effort of lifting his arm. His fingers only just grazed the smooth surface of the beckoning object.

Just a little more…

"Athrun!"

His heart sank at the sound of Cagalli's voice. At least his body was yet too limp to hurt her. He would never forgive himself if he—

"Athrun!" a smaller voice echoed.

Athrun's eyes widened.

"Look what I found sneaking around the manor," Cagalli announced, patting the frail little girl's head. "She says that she knows you and that her name is— Hey, what are you doing trying to get out of bed so soon!?"

But Athrun barely heard her as the fired-up blonde continued to scold him for being as careless and irresponsible as a stunt double. He felt like a giant weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

He was _not_ crazy, because Cagalli could see her too!

"Zehina…!" he finally managed to gasp in disbelief.

**To be continued…**


	4. Chapter 4: Inner Sanctuary

**Author's Note:** I'm very sorry for not updating after so long. It really looks like my writer's block started since my computer was moved to a different corner in my room. I can't imagine what that could have to do with anything, but the moment I started typing in my old corner again, the story just came out on its own.

At any rate, I hope that you'll like it!

**Disclaimer: Gundam Seed and all its characters belong to their respective owners.**

* * *

**Echoes of Mamre**

**Chapter 04: Inner Sanctuary**

"I never knew you were good with children!" Cagalli grinned at him. The look in her eyes had Athrun forcing down an involuntary shudder. What was it with girls that little kids instantly transformed them into clucking mother hens...? If hungry wolves could be compared to hens in any way, he amended at the wolfish glint he caught in Cagalli's eyes.

"Neither did I..." he groaned. Zehina had made herself completely comfortable on his lap and was dozing innocently, her one cheek pressed to his chest.

"She's awfully cute," Cagalli observed and, for the first time, Athrun took the time to really look at Zehina.

She was definitely older than the first time he saw her. She now resembled a ten year old girl instead of a toddler just a few years out of diapers. But how? He did not think his mind would be able to supply the answer, no matter how much he puzzled over it, though. There were a great many things he did not understand, here. Like how she seemed able to appear and disappear at will. Sometimes he could see her, sometimes he could not. Other times, like now, even Cagalli could see her! He was extremely grateful for that... He had been afraid that he was losing his mind and turning into a cold-blooded monster. At that very moment, he was still unsure of who had ripped that intruder apart limb from limb. He could still hear the screams and smell the hot, sticky blood splattering all over-- Ruthlessly, he squashed that train of thought.

He did not want to think about the killing that had taken place the previous night.

"Who is she?" Cagalli asked, breaking into the whirlpool of thoughts that was trying to drag him under. He looked up and saw in her eyes that she must have sensed his despair. Fondly, he wondered how she had come to know him so well...

"An orphan," he replied quietly. "She said that she had no home, no family... I wanted to take her to Lacus."

"Well, why didn't you?" she pressed.

"I was on my way there when--" Suddenly he bit his lip. Would she think he was crazy if he told her that, somehow, Zehina had survived the car crash unscathed? But she had caught his gaze in hers and he could not look away. Why was it that he could never lie to her? "When we were driven off the road by that van..."

"She was with you in the car, then?"

Athrun lowered his eyes. Would she shun him, now? But all she did was squeeze his hand.

"Some weird stuff happened in the past couple of days," she reflected. "But we'll get through it." Resolutely, she nodded to herself. "We've been through much worse, right?"

Athrun was not so sure. But all he said, was "...right"

---

That night, he had another dream. Everything was a mild shade of blueish white. Even the sky, he noted as he glanced through the frosty window pane, was a glowing, soapy kind of blue. Wondering where exactly he was, and at the same time, wondering why it felt like he had been here before, he followed the spooky hallway to a door.

The door was smaller than a normal door, almost like it had been sized for a child. It reminded him a bit of the doll house he had seen at Lacus's orphanage.

Somehow, he had known that there would be a messsage tacked into the blueish wood of the small door. This time, the letters did not try to skitter out from under his straining eyes when he tried to read them, but the ink was so smudged that he could not make out more than two words.

He reached out to open the little door and see what was on the other side when he jolted awake, sitting upright in his bed, sweat soaking his entire body. The sheets of the bed were drenched. He was so tired. His eyes felt grainy. He scrubbed the back of his hand across his face. It felt oddly sticky. Abruptly, a wave of fear engulfed him as he realized that it was not his sweat that had drenched the bed sheets, but a dark, wet-warm red liquid!

---

Cagalli was startled by Athrun bolting awake upright, his chest heaving as he gulped in mouthfuls of air in rapid gasps. Jumping from her seat beside his bed, Cagalli moved quickly to put her hands on his shaking shoulders.

"B-lood...! Blood everyw-here--!" he spoke haltingly, shivering as his eyes sought hers. Somehow, she felt relief at seeing that his irises were their normal, meadow green colour, if the pupils were bit diluted.

"Athrun, it's all right," she whispered fiercely, hugging him close. "There isn't any blood. Nothing happened. Everything is all right."

He let out a long, shuddering breath, and she felt his muscles relax in her embrace. Despite herself, Cagalli felt a surge of anger flaring in her chest. She did not know who she ought to be angry with, and thus directed her anger at the doctor. Athrun was having nightmares despite the sedatives that doctor was feeding him, and from what she could tell, the injections only made him pale and fragile.

Athrun was not sick, he was only in shock. The medicine being pumped into him was not going to take away bad memories. He needed to be in a more conscious state of mind so that he could sort through his fears on a practical level. If she had ever seen anyone methodically work out an emotional problem with their mind, it was Athrun.

A small thrill ran through her as she felt the dark-haired boy slump against her, falling asleep with his head resting on her shoulder. Instinctively, her hand went to his hair and she stroked the back of his head tenderly. It was dark, but she knew that, if anyone saw her now, she would be blushing beet red.

"I will protect you, no matter what you say..." she murmured to him with a smile.

Then and there, she resolved to have a talk with Doctor Blaauw in the morning. She would tell him to stop the injections. And to hell with anyone who said otherwise.

---

The next morning, Athrun dragged himself to the breakfast table despite a severe lack of appetite. It was more to find out what the others were up to than for the smell of bacon and eggs drifting down the hallway.

"Hey, look who's out of bed!" Kira exclaimed.

"It's Athrun!" Zehina, seated at the table with a napkin tied around her neck, piped up happily.

"Mornin', Athrun!" Cagalli called cheerfully.

Athrun could not help but smile at the domestic scene the twins had managed to create. Kira, wearing a plain, white apron, was fussing with the eggs on the stove, while Cagalli set about arranging the table, complete with tall glasses of juice, a bowl of fruit and a vase with brightly coloured flowers.

Athrun had the strangest feeling that he had come home. It was a ridiculous notion, of course - this was Cagalli's manor house, Kira did not even live here, and Zehina was a complete stranger... but the atmosphere made him feel like he belonged, something he had not felt in a very long time.

His happy little fantasy was dashed, however, by the approach of Doctor Blaauw. The tall, imposing man had that ominous medical supply case with him, and the dreaded syringe in his hand. Athrun could not say exactly why, but he felt his heart cloud over.

Just then, Cagalli stepped between Athrun and the doctor. Had she been a cat, her golden pelt would have been fluffed up, her tail bristling and her back arched menacingly. He could easily imagine her hissing and spitting violently at Doctor Blaauw. Athrun did not really know what was going on in the silent exchange between the two of them, but he was grateful when the doctor put the syringe away with a resigned air and promptly left the room.

When Athrun sent Cagalli a questioning look, she simply arched one golden eyebrow at him and winked. The smile was reforming on Athrun's lips by the time he sat down at the kitchen table. The idea of eggs and bacon for breakfast did not seem so bad after all. The smell made his stomach growl. When was the last time he had eaten?

"Guess what, guess what!" Zehina chanted excitedly as Athrun pulled up his chair. "I'm going to school tomorrow!"

"What?" Athrun chocked out. Fortunately, the young girl seemed to take his shock for astonishment. "Whose idea was that?"

"Mine!" chirped Cagalli. "After all, she can't skip school just because she's going to Lacus's orphanage."

Athrun looked worriedly towards Zehina, but she did not seem to be put off in the slightest at the mention that she had no parents and had never been to a school in her life.

_In fact... how do I know that...?_ Athrun was startled by the certainty with which he had accepted that Zehina had never been to a school. He opened his mouth to ask her about it, then closed it again when he saw how Zehina's winter blue eyes were twinkling with excitement. He would not bust her bubble today.

He was going to have to make sure the school Zehina would be attending was tight on security. Somehow, he did not think those people from the van would give up on getting her back so easily... Again, he wondered how he could be so sure that the men had been after _her _and not him, but then Cagalli set breakfast down in front of him, and all of his questions flew from his mind as he realized just how hungry he really was.

---

Standing in front of a tall, brick building, the shadow held up its sigarette and took a long drag. The shadow felt a sense of satisfaction as the poisonous fumes flooded its nose, mouth and lungs. It was a good day for catching butterflies. It was too bad that the butterfly of choice had not come out yet. The shadow took another long drag of its sigarette, but its poisonous bliss was interrupted by the shrill sound of a bell ringing.

_Time to go back to work_, the shadow thought, straigtening its hair and heading back into the building with a sigh.

**To be continued...**


End file.
